Love and Betrayal
by TheGoddessKnight
Summary: Ms. Tifa Lockhart is an amazingly well endowed and stunningly beautiful woman. Her beloved Cloud Strife failed to hold his promise. All she wanted is someone to cherish her. The only thing I have to say is that I love her. R&R.
1. New Hero and Adventure

A/N: I guess this story can be considered AU, well, since Square did decide to make Advent Children. Well, whatever, read away.

New Hero and Adventure

Tifa wiped the bar counter for what may have been the millionth time. The taste of adventure a year ago left her feeling bored with routine things. Her bar may be reopened but it was nothing exciting about it. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life tending to it.

She missed him. Cloud Strife. He left as soon as they managed to finish off Sephiroth. Without Aeirth, he had no reason to stay with anyone else. He loved her and Tifa knew it.

That was a year ago. Times have changed and so had Tifa.

She sighed. It was so boring for her to be at the bar now. Barely anyone came in. She couldn't even remember the reason why she decided to open it up again. As the name implies, Kalm is a calm place but the makes for tons of boredom.

The door the bar opened and in walked in a man not much older than Tifa. He carried with him a small duffel bag. She stared hard at him as he walked up to the bar. He had on a strange attire, but then again, Tifa knew some people who dressed weird.

She noticed his dark hair, which seemed to have a blue tint to it. It wasn't too long, but it was gelled back. He wore a white trench coat, reminding her too much of Sephiroth, but it had no sleeves. The sleeves of his dark navy shirt he wore underneath his opened jacket covered his arms. Tifa had a habit to look into the eyes of anyone that walked in, but this time she couldn't. Blue rimmed, wire framed sunglasses hid his eyes from her.

He took a seat at the bar. He turned to Tifa, "Busy day?"

Tifa couldn't help but smile at his comment. She never had a busy day at Kalm, "Do you want a drink?"

"Please," He answered.

She poured him a glass from the tap and handed it to him. He gripped it firmly with his white-gloved hand. He took a sip of it and set it back down on the bar. Tifa sighed and started wiping the counter again.

"You seem bored," He said.

"That is an understatement," Tifa said. "There's nothing to do here, ever. I could've never figured that running a bar would be this dull."

The door burst open and a group charged in. The familiar three-eyed helmets confirmed Tifa's suspicion. They were ShinRa soldiers. They lined up against the wall and pointed their guns at her. One soldier stepped forward.

"Tifa Lockhart, you are to be taken under arrest," He said. His voice muffled with the helmet on. "Come quietly and no one will be hurt."

Tifa slowly slid her hand under the counter. She kept her Premium Heart under there for just an occasion. Ten of them, one of her, and one civilian. Odds were definitely not in her favor.

"It's one thing that you just burst into a woman's place without a knock," The man at the bar said as he got up from his seat. He drew a long sword from his belt. Tifa gazed at it, a long, slender sword with a red hilt. Eight slots and each of them filled with different materia. "It's another when I'm there."

One soldier accidentally fired his gun that was aimed at Tifa. She closed her eyes but the bullet never made contact. The man managed to block it with another sword, an exact replica but with a blue hilt.

"I don't think you have any business here," he said. He aimed his red-hilted sword at the leader, "Fire!"

The sword engulfed itself in a small flame and then shot it to the soldier. The soldier raised his gun to block the coming fireball. It hit him and knocked him back to the other soldiers.

"Shoot him!" He yelled.

The rest of the soldiers aimed their guns at the man and started to fire. Tifa ducked down behind the bar as glass started to rain down on her. She peeked her head up to see a small wall of ice blocking the man from the hail of bullets.

The soldiers stopped their shooting. The man jumped from behind the wall and with his swords ready, sliced their guns in half.

"Retreat!" the lead soldier said and they all rushed out of the bar in a hurry.

The man sheathed his swords. He walked up to the bar and placed a small amount of gil on the table, "For the drink. Sorry about your bar."

Tifa stood up and looked at the money on the table. She looked up to see him walk out of the bar, shouldering his bag. Many thoughts ran through her mind. With a determined look on her face, she ran out of the bar to catch up to him.

The man walked slowly away from the bar. He took off his glasses and wiped them with a piece of his shirt. He put them back on and turned around to see Tifa run up to him.

"I'm really sorry about your bar Miss. There is really nothing I can do about it though," He said as she caught up with him.

"Oh, its ok, I don't care. Tell me though, are you just traveling around?" Tifa asked.

"Yes, why?"

Tifa looked at him, "Can I come with you? I've been dieing for adventure and you come along and I cant stay here anyways cause ShinRa is now after me and…"

"Ok, breathe. If you really want to, I'm not going to stop you. It would be actually nice to have a companion," he said. "I'm Chase Sable, and you are?"

"Tifa. Tifa Lockhart," Tifa said. "Nice to meet you Chase."

"Well, Ms. Lockhart, before we go, do you want to take anything from your home. Clothes perhaps? A weapon?" Chase inquired.

Tifa smiled and held up her fists, "These are my weapons. But you do bring up a point; I do need to pack some extra clothes. Do you have an idea where you're heading next?"

"My next stop is Costa de Sol," Chase responded. "After that is where I have a blank."

"Do you mind waiting for me outside of town while I got get some stuff?" Tifa asked.

"Not at all," Chase said. "But hurry though."

They went off in their separate ways. Tifa couldn't believe her luck. She dreamed for a new adventure and here she is starting one. Then again, ShinRa is after her. Tifa shrugged that off; they wouldn't be able to do much anyways. ShinRa headquarters has been destroyed, not much else is going for them now.

A/N: And that's the end of chapter one. There is something about bars that makes me start a story with one. Oh well, it makes for a nice start nonetheless.


	2. Stars and Summons

A/N: In reality, I'm writing this story because I have writer's block for my other ones. Still, I was going to write it anyways. Enjoy!

Stars and Summons

Tifa stared up at the stars that dotted the dark sky. She hadn't looked at them in a long time. She smiled and then turned her attention to the fire Chase made. Tifa's stomach growled and realized she hadn't eaten anything since they left Kalm.

"Chase…" Tifa said innocently.

"Yes Ms. Lockhart?" Chase questioned. He sat down next to the fire with his attention focused on writing something in a notebook.

"I'm hungry," Tifa responded. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Chase chuckled, "You didn't take anything before you left? Didn't you travel before? "

"Your point is?" Tifa asked.

"Nothing," Chase grabbed his bag and pulled out a cup of ramen and a bottle of water. He threw it across the fire to Tifa.

Tifa caught them and looked at them, "What am I suppose to do with this?"

Chase sighed, "Boil the water and then pour it into the ramen cup. It is not that hard Ms. Lockhart."

"You're being mean to me," Tifa pouted, childishly. Somehow, she knew she could act like that with Chase.

Chase laughed silently at that. Tifa began to boil the water with the pot Chase provided. It began to amaze her how much stuff can his small duffel can carry. It wasn't the best tasting thing in the world but it provided nutrition. Hopefully when they reached Junon, they can get a real meal.

Tifa finished eating. It was getting late and she was getting tired. One thing she didn't forget was to bring a blanket. She took her bag and reached inside for her blanket. Tifa pulled it out and situated herself for comfort on the ground. Making the bag into a pillow, she laid her head down.

"Going to sleep already?" Chase asked, writing in his notebook again.

"Yes I am. How long are you planning on staying up?"

"A little while longer."

Tifa yawned, "Goodnight Chase."

"Goodnight Ms. Lockhart."

The sun shone brightly. Tifa stirred and awoke, rubbing her eyes. She looked around but she didn't find Chase anywhere. She stood up and stretched. She forgot how uncomfortable sleeping on the ground was.

Tifa heard something behind her and saw Chase walking back up to their campsite.

"Your finally awake. I swear, nothing can wake you up once your sleeping," Chase said.

"Shut up," Tifa said in defense. "I was just really tired. Starting a new journey isn't easy."

"Guess not," Chase said. "So, are you ready to go?"

"I guess so," Tifa said. She packed her blanket back into her bag. Chase did the same and so they were off toward the Mythril Mine and nearing the swamplands.

"So Chase, how come you're on this little adventure?" Tifa asked, trying to make conversation.

"I figured life was too short when Meteor was about to hit. So, I decided to see the world. Took me a long to get started because I needed to save enough gil to make sure I could do so," Chase said. "Answer your question Ms. Lockhart?"

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Tifa asked. "You can just call me Tifa."

Chase didn't say anything for a few minutes, "It's just something I like doing. If it's all the same to you, I just prefer to call you Ms. Lockhart."

"Kind of strange but it alright with me. Just weird seeing someone do that," Tifa said.

She noticed that the ground was becoming softer and the air foggy. She realized they were in the swamp. Tifa forgot all about them having to cross it to get to Junon.

"Chase, we have to be careful here," Tifa said.

"Why?" Chase questioned.

"There is this beast living in this swamp and well, its very dangerous," Tifa said seriously.

"That is a nice story Ms. Lockhart. Maybe if I was ten I would've be scared. Tell me, that kind of beast lives here?" Chase said.

Tifa looked up and pointed to the giant serpent that stood in front of them, "The Zolom."

Chase chuckled, "Is that all? I thought you were serious with the look on your face." Chase sighed and looked up at it. It glared with its fangs bared. Chase drew one of his swords and pointed straight to the sky. A red aura emitted from it and fired into the sky. It materialized into something Tifa never saw before.

It had scales in a crimson red. The summon had a long, slender body and somehow stayed in the air with no wings. Golden spikes ran up its back and it had fearsome claws. It was a different dragon from the others.

"Byrn! Sacred Fire Cannon!" Chase yelled out to it.

The crimson dragon reared its head and began to build up an intense fire in its mouth. It looked down at the massive snake and fired its attack at it. The Zolom was engulfed in flames as it shrieked. It withered in pain as it slithered away from Chase and Tifa.

"What was that?" Tifa asked.

"A summon, fire dragon Byrn," Chase replied. "Come on, that didn't kill it."

Chase and Tifa hurried across the swamp. Luckily, they managed to avoid the Zolom. All that was left now for them was to navigate the mine and then north to Junon.

A/N: Cool wasn't it? Be kind and review.


	3. Ninjas and Swordsmen

A/N: Sorry for the long time between updates. Here is the highly anticipated chapter.

I forget these to, little late but whatever. Disclaimer: Square Enix owns FFVII and its characters, location, and etc. I own only the plot for this story and Chase.

Ninjas and Swordsmen

"Finally, Junon," Tifa said as they entered the town.

Junon changed quite a bit since the last time Tifa was there. It wasn't the little gloomy town with the huge city on top. It looked like everyone moved to the top part and the bottom was deserted.

She and Chase took the elevator to the upper city. In the elevator car, they stood opposite from each other. Chase remained quiet and didn't speak a word. In fact, ever since they made it past the mines and neared Junon, he acted like that.

Then again, Chase was a man of few words. He was just even more silent then before. Tifa edged a little closer to him until she was right next to him. He kept his head down and looked at the floor with his eyes behind sunglasses.

"Found something on the floor?" Tifa asked. "You're paying an awful lot of attention to it me."

Chase turned his head and attention to Tifa, "Sorry, a woman like you should receive all of my attention but something was on my mind."

Tifa was surprised at how Chase answered the question. He complemented her while he answered her question.

The elevator door opened at they both walked into the sun. Chase wasn't affected by it much, those sunglasses of his come in handy in times like this. Tifa on the other hand, had a hard time letting her eyes adjust. They were in the dark part of the city before after all.

"I'm going to go but the tickets. How about we split up for a while?" Chase said coolly. "We'll meet at that hotel ok?" Chase pointed to a hotel so far that Tifa could barely see it.

"Ummm ok, around what time?" She asked.

"In 120 minutes. Is that ok with you?" Chase said, already walking away.

"Two hours? Fine," Tifa yelled out.

Tifa walked around Junon. It surfaced on her that two hours is a long time to do anything. Why would Chase need all that time to but two tickets for the next ferry? Tifa shrugged it off; she didn't know Chase well enough to make much of an assumption toward his actions.

But she did feel something with Chase. He didn't shrug her off most of the time. Even though he remained quiet most of the time, she could feel him look at her through those glasses of his.

Tifa entered a boutique while she was killing time. She decided to buy new clothes for the travel ahead. So far, Chase only had decided to reach Costa del Sol and until he reached there will he make his next move. So it would be better for her to but things she needed right now before they would be stuck nowhere.

Tifa looked through all the selections of clothes in the small store. Mostly clothes for going out and partying but that wasn't what Tifa would be doing. Tifa sighed at the selection and started to head out of the store. She stopped when she heard some arguing at the back.

Near the dressing rooms was a commotion. Apparently someone wasn't going with the rules in the store. Tifa went to see someone very familiar. Arguing with the store manager was none other than Yuffie.

Tifa shook her head and then called out to her. Yuffie turned around and waved at Tifa in return. She stuck her tongue out at the manager and left the store with Tifa. Once outside, Tifa and Yuffie began to walk along the sidewalk.

"So Tifa, what brings you here to Junon?" Yuffie asked.

"Well, I'm on my way to Costa del Sol. I have to take a ship there so that's why I'm here," Tifa said.

"So why are you going there for?" Yuffie asked.

"It got boring serving drinks Yuffie. I mean, a year ago, sure I didn't want to go all around the world looking for Sephiroth but…Now, I kind of miss it. I'm just on an adventure to see all those places again," Tifa explained.

"All by yourself?"

The two made it to the hotel where Chase will meet up with Tifa.

"No, I have someone with me. It was really all his idea, but he let me come with him."

"Him? So it's a guy your with. Have you finally gotten over Cloud, Tifa?" Yuffie asked. Her questions were starting to get annoying. "Tell me, is he cute?"

Tifa never gave much thought to how Chase actually attracted her physically. He was pretty well built; as far as Tifa could tell by the skintight long-sleeved shirt he wore. He did have a handsome face.

"I'm not going to say," Was her answer.

"So he is cute," Yuffie said. "OK, you're staying here? Wait a minute…your going to Costa del Sol? That's were I'm heading!"

"Really?" Tifa asked. "Guess we have a lot of time to catch up then."

"But I'm taking the cruise though…" Yuffie said. "Are you?"

"I though you hated getting on anything that moves. Why are you taking a cruise?" Tifa asked.

"Cause I want to. I want to see if I got over my motion sickness," Yuffie said. She then looked past Tifa and toward the entrance, "There is a really cute guy behind you, at the entrance."

Tifa turned around to see whom was Yuffie talking about. Tifa shook her head as she noticed Chase standing in line to check into the hotel. Tifa then turned back to Yuffie with a smile.

"Looks like you have a crush on Chase," Tifa said. "Looks like he's checking us in. Guess he bought our tickets already."

"You go Tifa," Yuffie said. "You managed to snag a looker. Better try to keep him this time."

Tifa looked away. It is true her luck with men want the greatest, maybe it could change. Tifa looked back once again to see Chase already with the key in his hand and making his way over to her.

"Hey Chase. So how did it go?" Tifa asked.

"Well, Ms. Lockhart, we are only going to be able to reach Junon by taking the cruise over there. No matter though, it's not like were on a schedule. A little fun is what we're after, right?"

"Right," Tifa replied.

Yuffie called to draw attention to herself.

"Oh right, Chase this is Yuffie. Yuffie Kisaragi," Tifa said.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Kisaragi. I take it your coming with us then, correct?" Chase said.

"Yeah," Yuffie responded puzzled. "How'd you know?"

"I can tell. Kind of a gift of mine," Chase said. "The cruise leaves tomorrow, I'm going up Ms. Lockhart. Room 69 if you're wondering," He picked adjusted his duffel's strap and began to walk away.

Yuffie nodded and smiled, "You both so like each other."

A/N: Great? Review and tell me about it.


	4. Protection and Hair

A/N: Time for a new action pack chapter! Look I'm telling you right now that I'm writing this chapter while I'm pissed. So like I apologize in advance if it like affects the story someway. I think I'm forgetting these: DISCLAIMER-Don't own FFVII, just Chase.

Protection and Hair

Tifa walked along Chase on his left side while Yuffie was on her left. All three of them were headed for the docks so they could departure. Tifa had a smile on her face that kept reappearing every time she glanced at Chase.

What happened was that she managed to see a side of Chase she never seen before. It was bound to happen, they did share the same hotel room the other night. Some things are only noticeable once you're under a roof and in air conditioning.

Once Tifa entered the room, she found Chase absorbed in a soap opera. Tifa nearly died of laughter when she caught him. She herself never liked watching them but here was Chase, some swordsmen who hardly gives a mention about his past, watching a soap.

On top of that, the next morning (which was about an hour ago), Tifa found out how much Chase cares about his hair. When he was taking a shower, Tifa noticed how he took an armful of shampoos and conditioners with him.

Guess what they say is true, it will leave your hair shiny and strong. The way Chase hair is, that absolutely proves it. Although it was unexpected of Chase to do those things, it wasn't totally impossible. He just never seemed like the type.

Tifa finally regained herself. It was all funny but it was time she pulled herself together. Who knows what other things Chase might reveal to her during the cruise. Maybe he has a cat named Pancakes back home or something.

"So Chase, how was the soap last night?" Yuffie teased. Of course, Tifa told her everything.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Ms. Kisaragi," Chase denied. "If you are talking about my choice in television programming, then keep it down."

"Big bad Chase," Yuffie said. "I bet you didn't know that Cindy falls for Jack then, right?"

"What, are you serious?" Chase asked.

Yuffie and Tifa started to laugh. They nearly made it to the docks until the trio noticed the familiar three-eyes helmets. A group of the blue uniformed soldier stood in their way to the docks.

Without any warning or hesitation, the squad raised their rifles into the air and opened fire. Yuffie leaped high into the air and just as fast, Chase pulled Tifa behind steel crates.

"What are you doing?" Tifa asked, once behind the crates.

"They are shooting at us. We obviously had to seek a shield," Chase responded.

"You know Chase, so far you saved me too many times. I can handle myself," Tifa said. Bullets rained on the crates but Chase was still able to hear. "I was one of the group that managed to defeat Sephiroth, Chase. What do you have to say to that?"

"Stay here," Chase said before rushing out from the protection the crates gave them.

Yuffie already had taken out a number of them with her oversized shuriken, but she was being targeted by more of the soldiers so all she could do was block the bullets. Chase took that advantage and quickly closed the gap between him and them. Chase drew his blue sword and stuck it into the ground. He muttered something and ice started to surround the soldiers, which in a matter of moments, incased them.

Chase sheathed his sword as Tifa and Yuffie walked up to him, admiring the prison of ice he made.

"I mastered ice materia before, but I never managed to do something like that," Yuffie said.

"Let's go before the ship leaves us," Chase said, standing in front of them. He waited impatiently for them to stop looking at the ice.

Chase walked up the ramp first and waited for the two women. Yuffie was all the way at the bottom with Tifa next to her.

"I sure hope I can get through this," Yuffie said.

"Don't worry Yuffie, I'm sure you'll be alright. It isn't like your afraid of boats, you just get a little sick," Tifa said.

"Your right," Yuffie said.

Both of them went up the ramp and joined Chase on the ship. The ship was a large cruise liner. Within it was a vast set up of shops, restaurants, and other recreational activities. The ship was made with the one thing in mind that their guests will have a good time relaxing and having fun.

Chase hung his duffel on his shoulder, "Let's find our room Ms. Lockhart."

After a long time of wandering around the ship with a no clue to where their rooms were, Tifa did the smart thing. She asked someone for help. Sure enough, they knew where to go and pointed them in the right direction.

It also turned out that Yuffie's room was right next to Chase's and Tifa's. Chase saw this as something bad for him and good for Tifa.

"Cool, right next to each other. That means I can hear what's going on in your room," Yuffie said with a grin.

"Yuffie!" Tifa yelled.

"I think it's best if you stayed with Ms. Kisaragi," Chase said. "I mean, sure anyone would be lucky enough to be roommates with you but…"

Tifa smiled and laughed in the inside. Another side of Chase she hadn't seen. He can be really awkward toward a woman, especially Tifa.

"…it seems like you two have a lot of catching up to do," Chase finished. "I don't want to get in the way of that. What do you think Ms. Lockhart?"

"Ummm, sure. I guess it would be nice if me and Yuffie did talk a little more," Tifa said. "Besides, you're always going to be right next to me."

"That's right," Chase said, with a smile on his face. He opened his room's door and went in.

"Go Tifa. 'You're always going to be right next to me.' I'm sure he's thinking about you right now," Yuffie said. "And the way he answered it, he's really head over heels for you."

"Oh, be quiet," Tifa responded.

A/N: And finish. Well it took me some time to finish this chapter, so I kind of cooled off. It just great knowing that I was able to write this chapter in a moment of stress. Really gets that heavy thing off your shoulders. Hoped you enjoyed reading. Oh, and review!


	5. Sunrises and Shopping

A/N: Sorry for not updating in a long time. Been busy with my other story and the upcoming sequel to another. Anyways, back to business.

Sunrises and Shopping

Tifa tossed around in her bed. She lay on her side and stared at the red LED light clock on the nightstand. It was early. Tifa decided to get up since she couldn't sleep anymore. She took a shower and dressed herself.

She came out of her room and looked out into the ocean. Luckily both the rooms were the last ones so they faced the ocean.

Tifa inhaled the ocean air and let out a sigh. The darkness was starting to break from the sunlight. Tifa looked over to the end of the path to see Chase leaning against the guardrails and staring into the rising sun.

She began to walk toward the young man. Tifa noticed that he wasn't wearing that sleeveless jacket of his anymore. Not even that skintight dark blue shirt he wore. Now it was just a loose fitting white shirt. Probably a button up, it did have a collar. Even the pants he wore were different. Instead of being just dark blue, they whitened the nearer they were to his white leather boots.

Tifa finally reached him and tapped his shoulder. Chase turned around to find Tifa staring at him with her brown eyes.

"Yes, Ms. Lockhart?" Chase asked.

"What are you doing up so early?" She asked him.

Chase smiled a little, "Ms. Lockhart, I always wake up around this time. I'm amazed you woke up this early in the morning. You usually sleep until…if I remember correctly the earliest you woke up is eight."

"I couldn't fall asleep again," Tifa said in her defense. "Why do you get up so early?"

Chase turned his head and looked back at the sunrise, "Personally, I like watching the sunrise. It's like how some people like watching the stars for answers to their deep questions. Its cool, that's why I do it." He turned back to Tifa, "And right now, its even better with you right here with me."

Tifa blushed and looked away.

"Would you like to get some breakfast?" Chase asked.

Tifa looked back at him, "I'd love to Chase."

The two started their way down to the lower levels of the cruise ship. Most shops and restaurants were down there. After looking into different restaurants, most of which were closed, they found a small café that even had a view of the ocean.

It was perfect. It was small and private. Right there in the full sunlight of outside and it was open. Nothing else was as perfect.

Tifa and Chase took a seat under an umbrella and looked at the menus in front of them. After a minute or so of reading them, Tifa looked over hers and at Chase who still looked at the menu.

"What are you getting?" Tifa asked.

"Blueberry pancakes," Chase said from behind the menu.

"Really?"

"Yeah," He placed down his menu. "I love pancakes. Almost as much as I do y..ya know its really is nice out here."

Tifa gave a puzzled look at him. That was a strange moment for him. He usually always has his thoughts together before he says anything, "Excuse me?"

"Never mind," Chase retorted. He adverted his face away from her gaze.

"_I hate those sunglasses." _Tifa thought.

A waiter came from the café. He looked middle aged and dignified. He smiled at them as he walked up to their table, "It is so wonderful to see such a young couple enjoying themselves on such a fine cruise."

At the point, Chase and Tifa refused to make eye contact with each other.

"What would you to like?"

"Blueberry pancakes and…I suppose orange juice." Chase said.

"An omelet for me please. Orange juice as well." Tifa said.

"I'll be back with your orders." The waiter said as he left.

After what seemed like hours of silence between them, the waiter cam back with their order. He bid them a good meal and left them alone. The ship itself was finally becoming livelier. People were finally getting up and started to find something to eat or do.

With each group that past the small café, there was something that had somebody look at the couple. Young women grew faint at the sight of the handsome Chase. Guys tried their best to get attention from the lovely Tifa. Neither succeeded in anything except to raise the awkwardness between them.

After eating the last of his pancakes, Chase stared out into the sea, "Ms. Lockhart, you look nice today."

"How can you tell? Your not even looking at me." She inquired.

"Because you look nice everyday." Chase answered.

After their breakfast, the two started an expedition around the ship. They looked around for anything that might be considered entertaining. As they walked around, Tifa found herself wanting to lay her head on his shoulders. She resisted the urge but it was something that couldn't be kept off her mind. She started to question these new emotions between her and Chase.

Chase always protected her whenever they were in trouble. Even though she could protect herself, he managed to shield her from everything. He wanted her safe. Although, Tifa hated that Chase never really talked. He only says an answer bluntly and resumes his quiet nature. She wanted to change that.

"Chase, did you ever had a girlfriend?" Tifa asked.

Chase turned his head to look at her, "I'm wondering why do you want to know."

"Cause I just want to. Just tell me."

"Fine, to tell you the truth, I never had a girlfriend," Chase responded.

"Really? How come?"

"More questions…I guess its because I never really wanted one," Chase said. "I'm assuming you still have another question for me."

"Your good, what about now? Do you want a girlfriend now?"

Chase looked away for a minute and stayed silent. Tifa kept staring at him as they walked until he finally turned to face her. "Well, Ms. Lockhart…you know, we have been traveling together for a while and…well…"

"Tifa!" Yuffie yelled as she ran up behind them.

"Hey Yuffie," Tifa said.

"Ms. Kisaragi," Chase said.

"Hey guys, whattya doing?"

"Nothing really. I'm actually kind of bored. There is nothing to do on this ship," Tifa said. "Except tormenting Chase that is."

"What about shopping?" Yuffie asked.

"Sound great," Tifa said. "I do need a new swimsuit since I didn't pack one and I sure could go for a tan."

And with that the trio left to the stores of the ship. Each and every one of them. The girls decided to use Chase as a pack mule and gave them all of their bags. After what seemed like hours of shopping, and around three-dozen bags of clothes, they were making their way back up to their rooms.

Somehow, Chase held on to every bag that they gave him. He had him swung over his shoulder and this is where Tifa noticed his bicep. Sure the white shirt wasn't see through but every time but her and Yuffie looked back to see him, they couldn't help but blush.

"_Can't believe that those two helped in saving the planet. They're acting like school girls," _Chase thought.


	6. Gentle and Rough

A/N: Sorry for the long wait.

Gentle and Rough

Sun was just starting its routine passage upwards into the sky. Yuffie yawned as she waited for Tifa to get out of the shower. Today was going to be a little different than yesterday. Yuffie finally had her turn in the shower and Tifa was brushing her hair in the mirror. She resented the fact that she woke up late; Tifa wanted another sunrise with Chase.

Finally, Tifa and Yuffie decided to go down for breakfast. As they exited their room, they noticed that Chase's door was open by a small crack.

"Hey Tif, look," Yuffie said.

"No Yuffie, I know what your thinking and we shouldn't," Tifa said.

"Come on," Yuffie said. She walked over and peeked inside, "He isn't in right now, maybe we can find something else about Chase. You're never going to ask him about his past so we might as well try to dig something up."

"Look, Yuffie, if he does want to talk about it then he'll do. Let's just go get some breakfast," Tifa suggested.

Yuffie shook her head and went inside. Tifa, unable to stop her friend, followed her inside. Chase had kept his room neat, the bed was already made and nothing seemed out of place. The small LED clock looked like it hadn't been disturbed at all and everything looked normal.

Except no lights were on, the entire room was in shadows.

Yuffie glanced at the table to find a close laptop and a cell phone. Quickly, she went over and opened the laptop up.

"Yuffie!" Tifa yelled.

"Let's see, he doesn't have much on this thing. Wait a minute," Yuffie said. She found a file titled 'personal' on it. She moved the pointer to it and double-clicked on it. Inside were a few pictures of another person, a young woman.

She was quite beautiful. In each picture she was smiling at the unseen photographer. Her hair was a dark red that shown beautifully in the pictures along with her bright cerulean eyes.

"Pictures of a girl, who do you think it is?" Yuffie asked.

"I don't know," Tifa responded, leaning closer to see them. Tifa sighed and saw the cell phone. She picked it up and opened it, nothing on the call history except a few unknown numbers and no pictures. "We better go before Chase comes back."

Yuffie and Tifa went down to another restaurant for their breakfast. All during their meal, Tifa wondered who was the girl. Could it be that Chase might have lied to her or was it some other reason why he had those pictures?

Deciding not to think about anymore, Tifa decided that after breakfast she should go out to the deck for a few hours of sunbathing. The duo walked back to their room. Tifa changed into the two-piece bikini she purchased yesterday. It flaunted her two assets and revealed her glorious figure without leaving much to the imagination.

"What are you going to plan on doing Yuffie?" Tifa asked before heading out.

"I dunno, I'll think of something. If I see Chase, I plan on telling him something but you wouldn't object to going out tonight right?"

"No…Why?" Tifa asked.

"No reason," Yuffie said with a smile.

Tifa walked out of her room. She looked at the closed door and wondered if Chase was in. She bit her lip and walked to the door. Tifa knocked on the door and leaned closer to hear if anyone was coming.

The white door opened and Chase was in the skintight body shirt he had on before they came to the cruise only without the white jacket.

"Ms. Lockhart, umm," Chase struggled with his words as he noticed that Tifa was only in a bikini. "Can I help you?"

Tifa leaned closer to Chase, "Could I ask a favor of you?"

"Uh, I guess. What is it Ms. Lockhart?" Chase asked.

Tifa took off his sunglasses and placed them on the top of her head, "Can I borrow these?"

Chase held his eyes closed before rubbing them. He slowly opened them up. Tifa stared into his steel gray eyes. The silver, gorgeous eyes mesmerized her.

"You already took them, I suppose you could," Chase said. He fought hard to keep his eyes on her face and not her chest.

"Um, thank you," Tifa said, trying to look away from his eyes.

"Take care not to stay too long in the sun," Chase said.

"How did you know I was going to sunbathe?" Tifa asked.

"You bought that swimsuit for it correct? That what you were talking about," Chase answered.

"You paid attention to what I was saying?"

"Of course, shouldn't have I?"

"No, no, its ok," Tifa said. She looked around, "I'll see you later."

Tifa started to walk away. It was comforting finally seeing his eyes but they bore into her.

Chase stayed outside for a few more minutes watching the lovely Tifa walk away.

"You like her, dontcha?" Yuffie asked from behind Chase.

"Your mistaken," Chase said, turning to Yuffie. "Ms. Lockhart and I have become close friends and that's it."

"I don't believe that," Yuffie said.

"Leave me alone," Chase said.

"Look, I want you both to be together so I arranged a table for dinner at Chez Plateau upstairs. Formal wear so don't wear that jacket."

"I'm not going," Chase answered.

"I know you will. For a date with Tifa, I'm sure you will."

"When did you even have the time to do so, you were with Tifa all day."

"Your good, that's my little secret."

( . ) -----------\

Tifa waited at the table. The soft light from the candles gave the place a romantic atmosphere. She sighed and looked at her watch.

"I cant believe Yuffie made me dress up for this. Why did is it that I think Chase would've come," Tifa said. Yuffie did manage to change her into a stunning beauty. She had on a long, white dress with a split up her left leg.

"Sorry I'm so late," Chase said, coming from behind her and sitting on the chair opposite from her.

Tifa almost fell out of her chair once she saw Chase. It was undeniable that he looked entirely too sexy. He had another white dress shirt on that was unbuttoned at the top revealing his masculine chest. He wore a dark blue, silk suit that looked spectacular. His steel gray eyes twinkled in the candlelight, he was almost too good to be true.

"Um, you sure took a long time. You dilly-dally too much," Tifa said, regaining herself.

Chase chuckled, "I know, I'm sorry. Did you order yet?"

"No, I was waiting for you," Tifa responded.

"How sweet," Chase picked up the menu but looked over it for a minute. "It seems that Ms. Kisaragi has decided to spy on us."

Tifa took out a mirror from her purse and tried to get it to show her Yuffie. Finally noticing her at the table behind them, she placed it back, "What are we going to do?"

"We could always run," Chase suggested.

"Chase! Are you out of your mind?"

"Most likely, are you up to it? Really, do you want to be here?" Chase asked.

Tifa stayed quiet for a minute, _"I want to stay with you though." _

"We could go somewhere, like up to the deck, watch the stars or something," Chase suggested.

Tifa perked up, "Really?"

"I just don't want to be here. Anywhere else with you is fine. I just feel forced into doing this."

Tifa smiled, "Let's go."

Chase and Tifa got up from their seats and ran toward the exit. Confused waiters busboys quickly got out of the way and Yuffie was beyond angry.

Laughing all the way up, Tifa and Chase reached the highest point on the boat. While everyone was inside having dinner or simply doing something, they were outside in the moonlight.

"I love the stars," Tifa said, gripping the guardrail.

"You know, you still have my sunglasses," Chase said.

Tifa eyed him, "That's all you can say? Jerk."

Chase, recognizing the playfulness in her voice, looked up at the sky, "Well, I happen to like watching at the stars myself sometimes. It's great because there's one right next to me."

Tifa blushed, "Thank you Chase. I think I should tell you cause now you made me feel guilty. Yuffie and I snuck into your room and well…we looked at your laptop."

"And?"

"We kind of looked at some pictures of this girl,"

"That's it? An invasion of privacy but I don't really care. You told me, I really like honesty."

"Who is she?"

Chase looked down, "She's my sister. I miss her."

"Oh…sorry for looking," Tifa apologized.

"It's alright, as I said, I don't really care if you did," Chase said looking into Tifa's eyes.

"Chase?"

"Yes?"

"I…we should go to our rooms. It's getting late."

"Ok, let's go."

Chase and Tifa made their way down to their rooms. Tifa felt cold and Chase gave her his jacket. She smiled thanks at him and they kept walking. Once outside Tifa's room, they turned to look at each other.

"I guess this is goodnight," Tifa said.

"Yeah, goodnight," Chase said. "Tifa?"

"Yes Chase?"

He hesitated, "Sleep well."

Tifa felt a little disappointed inside. Did she really wish for him to say those three words? She was about to but what if he didn't?

"There you guys are!" Yuffie said as she ran up to them. "That is the last time I try to get you together. My gawd, how hard is it to open up to each other? I'm going to bed, I suggest you two do the same."

Yuffie opened the door and stormed inside. Tifa and Chase looked at each other before they were overcame with muffled laughter.

"Goodnight Chase," Tifa said, calming down.

"Goodnight Tifa," Chase said back to her.

A/N: Review dammit!


	7. Backstabbing and Inconsiderate

Man, do I hate this chapter…

Backstabbing and Inconsiderate

Chase blinked his eyes. Tifa smiled, she was amused at the fact the Chase, without his glasses, can blink his eyes an uncountable number of times in a minute. The glasses in question where on top of Tifa's head. The cruise was coming to an end and she didn't want it to. A few more minutes and off they went to go explore the world. She'll miss Yuffie and the comforts of a bed and real food.

But she loved being with Chase. Tifa wondered how he felt. Normally, it was masked under the sunglasses he wore and the diction of his speech. He slowly started opening up.

Together, they leaned against the balcony to see the view of the upcoming landmass with the city built by the clear waters. Yuffie was busy trying to pack her things into the one suitcase she had. Tifa almost had the same problem, luckily she purchased another bag. Chase on the other hand still had that one duffel that somehow kept everything he had in it and still looked like it could fit some more.

"Chase?" Tifa asked, looking up into his eyes. She had grown to accept them. A few days of staring at them without their shield made them comforting portals into Chase's mind. "Have you decided where would our next destination be?"

"I think it would be preferable if we just went to Northern Corel after Costa del Sol. It would be the next stop and make things easier in the journey," Chase smiled and looked down at her. Something that caught her off guard, he never did that. "Maybe, we could go to the Golden Saucer?"

"That'd be nice Chase," Tifa answered. Did she really want to continue going after a relationship with him? Right now she did.

A bright light flashed, Chase turned away and shut his eyes and Tifa looked toward where it came from. Yuffie stood there with a camera in her hand and shaking a Polaroid picture.

"Yuffie, what the…"

"You guys look so good together. I just had to immortalize that," Yuffie said. She stop shaking the picture and looked at it, "Perfect."

Yuffie smiled and looked at the picture a little while longer. Chase rubbed his eyes and squinted through half-closed eyes. Yuffie handed him the picture, "Something to remember this cruise by."

Chase snatched the picture and tucked it away in his jacket. Chase kept rubbing his eyes and held them shut.

"Is something wrong Chase?" Tifa asked

Chase shook his head and took a deep breath. He slowly opened his bloodshot eyes and smiled at her.

The cruise came to a stop and everyone started to disembark. A lot of people were a little disgruntled with all the chaos of getting off of the ship but it wasn't too bad. Chase persuaded the girls to stay on the boat until most of the crowds have already passed.

Tifa stood next to the exit as more people went down the ramp. Chase stood beside her with his arms crossed. His sheathed swords hung menacing on his wait. Something seemed off with Chase that day. He was more tensed and edgy.

As the last of the people walked down the ramp to get off the ship, Tifa and Yuffie started to walk down before Chase. They made it to the bottom first and Chase was still near the top. Chase walked in a slow pace, almost as he regretted the cruise being over. As he finally reached the bottom, Tifa looked at him puzzled.

"Is something wrong Chase?" Tifa asked. A black helicopter flew overhead and went off inland.

"Yeah, there is," he replied.

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything Chase," Tifa said.

Yuffie was getting bored of those two. Tifa was talking about how the all-of-a-sudden-emo-Chase could tell her anything. It was nothing more than some sappy scene in a chick flick. And how Yuffie hated chick flicks.

"Hurry up!" Yuffie said to them. She walked closer to Tifa; "You guys take way too long to do anything."

Chase unsheathed his cobalt sword and pointed it to the girls. The look in his eyes was unmistakably filled with sorrow.

"Chase?" Tifa asked.

"Sleep…" Chase murmured.

Tifa's and Yuffie's eyes suddenly became heavy. The two were hit with drowsiness and welcomed the peaceful darkness.

( . ) -----------\

Tifa woke up, still feeling the effects of the Sleep spell. She looked around to find herself with her old friends. Barret, Cid, Vincent, Red XIII, Reeve, and Yuffie were in there with her too. She was in a cell that could be described as nothing more than sterile. White floors, walls, ceiling, and lights. To keep anyone from escaping, the door of the cell was made of some type of glass that could never be broken. The cell itself was in a room that looked like it was just there for people to stare at animals.

"Where am I?" Tifa asked softly.

"Hell, we don't know," Barret said. "All I know is that were caught like rats in a trap."

"I don't get it," Tifa said.

"You and Yuffie came in here, knocked out. They placed you in here with all of us. They also took yo weapons," Barret said.

"They?"

"ShinRa," Cid answered this time. "Apparently they've been after us for a while. Damn shits."

( . ) -----------\

Chase walked down the hall. He held his head low. _"So this is how that mission ends. Me finally capturing both Ms. Lockhart and Ms. Kisaragi and heading back to my office to type a report on the trip. Perfect," _Chase thought.

He turned left and stood in front of a door labeled "S.S." Chase turned the knob and entered the office of one of the only people he would consider a friend.

"Hello Stephen," Chase said as he entered.

A tan skinned man sat behind a desk littered with papers. Piles of letters sat atop and towered over the man's dirty blond hair. He looked up from the paperwork, "Chase, you know that ever since ShinRa reformed itself, I was given a high position. Meaning you have to knock, alright?"

Chase gave a small chuckle, "You know why I came. You already know that I arrived on ShinRa Hawk 4 so you must've seen this coming."

"Lost your glasses," Stephen said.

"Your point?"

"I think that was bound to happen, you did take the longest to gather enough data and to capture the AVALANCHE team," Stephen said as he started to look under his desk. "I think he went somewhere."

An orange cat jumped down from a shelf and landed on a stack. It toppled over and papers scattered everywhere. Chase grabbed the cat and held it in his right arm, "Guess not, I'll help out."

"No, just go Chase. You have a report to type up," Stephen said.

Chase nodded and exited the office. As he walked down the white halls, Reno and Rude were coming from the other way.

"Hey, look its Chase. How you been buddy?" Reno asked, stopping so they could chat.

"I'm doing alright. Just got Pancakes back from Stephen," Chase said. "Rude, think you could lend me a pair?"

Rude stared at him through his midnight sunglasses, "Your usually more careful with your glasses." He reached into his suit and pulled out an identical pair of sunglasses like the ones he wore and handed them to Chase, "You owe me."

"I got it, see you guys later," Chase said continuing his path toward his office. After a few more turns and talks with other ShinRa employees, he found his office. Chase closed the door behind him and let Pancakes loose in the office. No lights were on and that was the way Chase liked it, dark.

It was larger than his friend's even though he was nowhere near as important. There was a mahogany desk in the middle facing him with the chair ready to be sat on. A computer monitor sat on the desk. Other than that, the office was plain. The move to the new ShinRa headquarters and being sent out on a mission didn't give Chase enough time to decorate.

Not that he was going to anyways.

He sighed and sat on the black, leather chair. His duffel lay on the floor next to the table. He picked it up and zipped it open. He took out the notebook and the laptop and placed them on the desk. He reached into his jacket and placed the photo face down on all the notes. Immediately he turned on the computer.

The monitor lit up the office with its soft light. Chase started up his typing program and began to type feverishly. Within a few minutes, he was already proofreading his first draft of Yuffie's report. Happy with what he wrote, he clicked on print and started on Tifa's.

Chase hesitated at first but he paid no heed and started to type. Pancakes jumped onto the desk and prowled on top of it. Chase stopped for a moment when he came to the cruise portion. After a tensed moment, he continued.

Pancakes walked on top of Chase's notes. He leaped away, spreading the notes all over the place for the second time that day.

"Pancakes," Chase said disappointed as he bent down to pick up the fallen papers. Pancakes came from the darkness and sat on one of the papers. "Get off," Chase said as he yanked it from under his cat. He turned it over and looked at it. The picture Yuffie had taken. Why didn't he realize that that was it? Studying the photograph, he couldn't help but notice the subtle happiness on his face.

And on hers.

Chase swiveled in his chair and closed the document, not saving the report. He took a blank sheet from the printer. He found a pen on his desk and scribble something down. He gathered up the other report and exited his office.

"To hell with this," Chase said.

Two hours later, Tifa found that she really couldn't believe all that happened. Chase betrayed her.

"I guess its true, you cant judge a book by its cover," Tifa said to herself.

"What Tif?" Yuffie asked.

"Nothing," Tifa responded.

The door to the room slid opened and in walked in a young man in a white lad coat. He had with him some other people dressed in the same coat.

"So everyone's awake? Good," he said with a mocking smile.

"What the hell is going on?" Barret demanded.

"I need your services. It's the least you can do after you basically brought down ShinRa from the mighty company it was to the petty sliver of its shadow it is now."

"How about telling us your name," Cid asked.

"I'm Jonathan, successor of Hojo," he said.

"And what the hell do you want?" Barret asked again in his booming voice.

"I organized the kidnapping of all of you to bring you here at our headquarters at Gaea's Cliff, but before we captured you, we needed a little information. That's why you all were just recently captured. Its all for science, you see Hojo and Gast were men of science and had brilliant minds. But they never progressed far ever since their little experiment. They created the perfect SOLDIER yet they didn't continue their research, just more Jenova this and Jenova that.

"I intend to create the next generation of SOLDIERs but I needed a few test subjects first. This is where you come in. Why not use the people who defeated the strongest SOLDIER of them all? I think I have finally been able to dupliate the process that lead to the success of my first neo-SOLDIER, and I plan on testing it out of you first."

"So your saying that one has already been created?" Vincent asked in his monotonous voice.

"You catch on fast Turk. Yes, there was my first experiment. Since there were no more Jenova cells to create SOLDIERs, I had to replace that missing substance with another. Mako energy was used already in the first process but I upped the dosage. I had created the perfect SOLDIER whose real strength comes from his materia, not just from muscles."

"I know for a fact that SOLDIER already had better mental and physical prowess already. You did nothing new," Vincent said.

"Your wrong, think how only SOLDIERs can just create ice and hurl it an enemy. That's all they could in the long run. An ice materia has so much potential to it yet we can only use it to do nothing more than cool off a drink? No, my SOLDIER can do so much more. Of course, there was a bit of an adverse effect. The effects also progressively became worse with each test subject. For the first, it was nothing more than his eyes becoming photosensitive but with each failure, it was all death. No need t worry though because I'm pretty sure every step of the process has been detailed so now death is no longer an issue.

"I believe that two of you already know him. Chase Sable is my Materia SOLDIER," Jonathan revealed.

"So Chase was against us all along," Tifa said. His sunglasses still lay on her head. She ripped them off and threw them down onto the floor.

A smirk appeared on Jonathan's face. Suddenly, his face became filled with question and rage, "Those are _his_ glasses, why would you have them?" He asked himself, staring at Tifa. "Give me Chase's report on Tifa Lockhart."

His assistant looked through folders and handed him a single sheet of paper.

"What the hell is this? This shouldn't even be considered a paragraph! I need to see Chase now!" Jonathan yelled at his cohorts. He quickly exited the room along with the other scientist.

A few more minutes passed before the door opened again. Tifa instantly recognized the white jacket and black glasses. Chase stood in the doorway; his attention was focused on the captives.

A/N: Want to know what Chase wrote? Just read the summary for the story cause that's what it is. Hopefully you guys don't hate Chase too much, but then again he did just became the bad guy. Ah, who cares, just review.


	8. Forgiveness and Care

A/N: Retribution Time

Forgiveness and Care

"What are _you_ doing here?" Yuffie asked.

Chase slowly walked over to the cell, keeping his head low. On a part of the wall that was unseen by the team, Chase slid a card and punched in a couple of numbers on a security lock. The glass door slid open, leading their way to freedom.

"I don't get it, what the hell is going on?" Barret asked.

"This is Chase," Tifa said quietly, "The one who put Yuffie and I in here with all of you. What exactly are you doing, Chase?" she asked indifferently.

"I really think that I am wrong," Chase said. "I work for ShinRa yet I know what they want and what they are planning. I knew how they placed this planet in the sorry state its in and even though that's all known to me, I still follow orders blindly. Not anymore, I don't want to be another device for their own pleasure to utilize."

"And you think setting us free will just atone for your mistakes?" Vincent asked.

"No, I don't believe that. I have my reasons for doing so but, nonetheless, I have done what I have done. You would know all about an unforgivable past Vincent. Atonement can only get you so far," Chase said. He walked over to a steel closet on the other side of the room. He broke the lock on it with his hands and opened it. The various weapons of the group were in there. "I believe it would be in our best interest if we got out of here as fast as we could."

Everyone got out of the cell and grabbed their weapons from the closet. Barret locked into place his Missing Score, Vincent holstered his Death Penalty, and it continued until everyone received their rightful weapons.

Chase opened the door and everyone filed outside with Tifa as the only one left inside. She stared at Chase and calmly walked up to him.

"Why did you really do this?" Tifa asked.

"I told you, I'm tired of being the loyal soldier," Chase replied.

"That can't be all," Tifa added.

Chase looked down at his feet and then back at her face, "Prior to this, I asked myself the same question. I couldn't let you stay here. I love you."

Tifa was stunned at his answer. With tears welling up in her eyes, she let her open palm hit the side of his face. His glasses flew off but Chase turned his attention back to her. She saw it in his eyes that he meant it.

"I guess I deserved that," Chase said softly.

The team ran down the hallways. Red lights were blinking signifying their escape. As they rounded a corner, ShinRa MPs came from hidden doorways and shot at them.

"How much farther?" Barret yelled out.

"Not much, just keep running," Chase said. He came to halt with the rest of the team running off. Tifa slowed down and looked back to see Chase standing alone with the soldiers coming at him. He drew his cobalt blade from its scabbard and simply raised it into the air.

"Ice!" he yelled. From the sword, ice emitted from it and slowly enclosed the space. In a matter of seconds there was a thick wall of ice. Chase seemed to concentrate harder as he left his sword in the ice, "Frigyd."

Tifa stood in amazement as another summoning took place. On the other side of the wall, ice came from the wall and manifested itself into another dragon, an almost exact replica of Byrn except his scales were a royal blue. Due to another factor, the dragon wasn't as large as the first and was small enough to fit inside the area.

"Be a nice dragon Frigyd, cool them off with your Absolute Zero Canon," Chase said. As the soldiers started slowing down and opening fire, the dragon began to build up energy in its mouth. Chase jerked away his sword and sheathed it. He ran the other way, grabbing Tifa's hand along the way so she wouldn't just stand there.

The two rounded a corner and Tifa saw everyone at a steel door.

"What's wrong?" Chase asked as he ran up to them.

"Didn't really think your plan all the way through, Slick," Barret said. "We can't get passed this door."

"You mean you were able to get through so much as a team except a steel door?" Chase asked.

"Your point is asshole?" Cid asked.

"Yeah, what is it that I'm thinking, that's a blast proof door," Chase said as he slid his card on the security lock but the red light remained. "Damn, apparently they know I'm in on this." He gave a sigh, "Screw this," he balled up his hand and punched the lock. His fist made a serious dent in it and sparks flew as he removed his hand.

"That didn't do anything," Yuffie pointed out.

"I already knew that," Chase said, shaking his hand. "This facility was created in a way that if anyone attempted an escape, they wouldn't be able to reach the outside. I only destroyed the electronic lock on this door, which has disabled the physical locks. We're going to have to pull those doors apart."

Everyone grabbed hold and tried to pry open the doors. At first, the doors did not move but a few more seconds of struggling and they soon parted slowly. Finally opening them all the way, everyone was ready to go through the doors.

Chase smiled and Tifa looked up at him. Booted feet came running up to them. Chase looked to see one of them take off a pin off of a grenade and chuck it at them. Quickly, he ushered everyone outside with Tifa by his side. It exploded, causing much of the icy ledge that the door led out to, to crumble. Tifa and Chase touched the ledge as it crumbled and they tumbled down the rock face and landed on the base of the mountain with a blizzard over their heads.

Chase grunted as he sat up. Barret, Yuffie, and everyone else weren't around. He looked up the twenty feet they fell. Luckily, ShinRa headquarters was built into the mountain and had that door positioned near the bottom.

He looked over and saw Tifa still on her back. He tried to walk but the thigh on his right leg made Chase cringe in pain. He breathed heavily as he sat back down on the powdery snow. Still with Tifa on his mind, Chase crawled over to her and began to shake her.

"Ms. Lockhart, Ms. Lockhart!" he yelled as he shook her. Tifa's eyes fluttered open and she gazed at Chase's silver eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief, "Your safe."

She sat up, "What happened?"

"We fell 20 feet, onto cold snow with no one else to help. Are you hurt? Is anything broken?" Chase asked.

Tifa shook her head. She felt no pain except the one in her heart. Chase dropped a bombshell before they escaped but that wasn't it. It was just that he wasn't what he said he was. Chase had another intention than he said to her.

Chase grimaced as he stood up on his feet.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked.

"I broke my leg," Chase muttered. He drew the scarlet sword and pointed the tip to his right let, "Cur..ah!"

He fell back down to the snow holding his leg. Tifa came over and, "Don't make it any worse Chase. What were you thinking?"

"I had to heal it," Chase said between gasps, "If I mended it while it in a bent position, it wouldn't have healed right."

"Look, we got to find somewhere to stay. Being stranded in the snow isn't an ideal place to be with a broken leg," Tifa eased Chase up with his arm around her and together they walked. It was tedious but soon enough they found an open cave.

Inside the cave, it opened up into a cavern. Tifa set Chase in the middle and took the scarlet sword from his hands.

"Ms. Lockhart, what are you doing?" Chase asked.

"I'm making us a fire," Tifa replied. Outside were a few trees so Tifa went back out into the freezing wind and brought back a few branches. She placed them in front of Chase and pointed his sword down at them. "Fire," she murmured and the sword was covered in flames and shot out a small fireball onto the branches. The fireball was hot enough to dry them off and start a small fire but it quickly died out.

"Damn," she said.

"Hand it here," Chase said. Tifa passed the sword to him. He positioned himself onto his side and aimed at the branches, "Fire."

A small stream of fire came out from his sword. The branches caught on fire, but Chase kept the stream going until he was sure it was going to stay alive.

"So that's what a Materia SOLDIER can do," Tifa said.

"I take it that Jonathan told you that," Chase said. "He labeled me that, I could never shake that title off." He stretched his hand to her, "Could you help me?"

Tifa grabbed his hand and lifted him up. Chase steadied himself and aimed his sword down at his leg. "Cure," he said and a green aura flooded from the sword and down onto his leg. Tifa let go and Chase stood by his own power now, free of pain.

"Why did you go through with it Chase?" Tifa asked. "In the end, you still made the decision to have me captured."

"I'm sorry, but there was still another factor," Chase said. "I know, its still no excuse." He went over to the entrance of the cave, "That's why I have to go back."

"Chase! Stop right now," Tifa said before he took another step. "In no way are you in any condition to go out and fight. At least wait until tomorrow."

Chase stood silent for a moment. Cure magic only healed his leg but not the pain. He drew the cobalt sword and created another wall of ice at the entrance, "Fine, tomorrow."

Chase walked over to Tifa. He sat back down on the snow. Tifa sat on the opposite side of the fire and they stared at each other.

"So everything you made me believe in the beginning was all a lie, huh?" Tifa asked.

Chase nodded, "I'm sorry to say that it is."

"All you keep saying is that you're sorry. I want to know why you didn't feel sorry earlier, why you suddenly became the hero."

"It all started when ShinRa sent me to retrieve you. I wondered at first why would they need me to get you. They sent the last remaining SOLDIERs to get your other friends but sent me to you. I don't know whether it's a compliment or disapproval. I figured it would be easy; ShinRa had planned the elaborate arrangement so that I would earn your trust and I would go on from there. But even the best of plans can go wrong."

"I hate you so much," Tifa said.

"I hate me too," Chase said. "Trust me, if I wasn't depended on ShinRa, I would've stopped it all."

"Why are you tied to ShinRa?" Tifa asked.

"To fully understand, I need to tell you a little about myself. You see, I was born in the slums. An orphan. Who knows what happened to my father and mother but I was alone. Not totally, I did have my sister. We lived at an orphanage but that got tiresome so once I was old enough, I took her along with me and got a house. It was hard; luckily people had a high demand for a computer hacker.

"I always managed to hack into computers, mainly banks, and steal from accounts of ShinRa executives. They caught me yet they didn't have me killed. ShinRa acknowledged my skills and offered me an employment opportunity. I wish I refused."

"Too greedy?" Tifa asked.

"No, just that at that time, my sister was sick. No way I was able to find a good doctor in the slums and I couldn't afford being caught by stealing a mountain of gil. But I was caught anyways. ShinRa gave me the option of giving her a good doctor. Jonathan was there and helped her but then once ShinRa fell, he rose.

"He had the crazy idea for a new SOLDIER and threatened to start experimenting with my sister. He didn't want to but said so only to get me. I don't know why he wants me but he did and he got me. I became his guinea pig. As of right now, they still have my sister."

Tifa kept her eyes on Chase. He wasn't lying this time, his eyes proved it, "You would've saved me the trouble of being captured if only they didn't have her as their insurance. You changed your mind but the blast made you fell which has…"

"Yeah, I'm stuck here while ShinRa still has my baby sister."

Tifa was empathetic, Chase only wanted to protect the people he loved. "Chase, one thing I still don't get is that Cloud told me that Hojo was already working on a SOLDIER who had been exposed to high levels of mako, which became monsters. Weren't your abilities spawned from the high mako levels?"

"That must've been the project before. I don't know much except that it called for Jenova cells and the high levels of mako at once. My procedure was different; I was given 50 millimeters of mako and sat in a tube for a few hours. Twice a week, for six months."

Tifa shivered, it was till cold even with the fire in front of her. Chase got up and walked over to her. He kneeled down and took off his white jacket. He placed it on her shoulders.

"Thank you," she said. He sat down next to her. Tifa laid her head on his shoulders, "For the time I found out the real truth about you, I was mad. At you, at me, at everyone, now I see that you had your purpose."

"Still…"

"Chase, what's going to happen when you're married? You love calling women by Miss. So and so,"

Chase was a little perplexed by the way she just changed the subject, "Well, I would obviously call her by her name, that isn't very hard to conclude Tifa."

Tifa looked up into his eyes, "Chase, you love me…"

"Yes, I do love you. Problem, Tifa?"

"Chase, I love you too," she said. Tifa closed her eyes as her lips found his.

A/N: Ha ha, you have to wait for a new chapter.


	9. Payback and The Collapse

Payback and The Collapse

Tifa's eyes fluttered open. She felt his arms around her and a warm feeling all around her. The cave was eerily beautiful as the light came through the crystal ice wall Chase erected. Tifa smiled, if only they could stay like this forever. If only, but as long as ShinRa is still around, Chase will never allow himself to be caught in a moment of weakness. Tifa knew that from the times they shared together.

She closed her eyes again. Today could be the last day she would ever see Chase again. Tifa knew he was a swordsman with unsurpassed materia abilities. Even still, that wouldn't be enough to bring down ShinRa. Not by a long run. She was going to help him, no matter what he said.

She felt him stir, "Did I wake you?" She turned around to face him.

"Not at all," Chase said. "Kind of hard to sleep longer when a day like this is about to happen."

"Chase, I'm going with you," Tifa said.

"Tifa it's much to dangerous. I cannot allow…"

"Chase, I fought against Sephiroth. Are you telling me that whatever is inside that facility is stronger than Sephiroth? Besides, I'm going to have you to protect me."

Chase found himself defeated, "No matter what I'll say, your going to come right?"

She smiled, "Yeah."

Chase got up and stretched. Tifa shivered a little as the temperature became colder.

"Sorry about that Tifa. I should've told you I manipulated the fire materia so that it would keep us warm through the night," Chase said.

"It's ok," Tifa answered. "I take it your going now."

Chase nodded. Tifa couldn't help but feel saddened. She wanted more time with him. It meant everything to her if he could just stay a little longer. As far as she could see, this could be their last moments together.

"Tifa, you look worried," Chase said, kneeling down next to her.

She wrapped his jacket around her tightly, "Chase, I know that you really want to go and save your sister. You're going to do everything in your power to get her out of there and bring down ShinRa once and for all. It's also going to be really hard, even with the two of us doing so."

"I see what you're getting at," Chase said. "Don't worry, if anything goes sour, we'll get out of there."

A scratching noise came from the wall. Chase picked up his crimson sword and held it up. A few moments later and Yuffie came through a neatly cut circle within the wall. She looked inside and spotted Tifa and Chase. She ran over to them.

"Guys, I found you!" Yuffie declared.

"Yeah, good for you Yuffie. Look, I have to tell you something," Tifa said.

Yuffie held up a finger, signaling for silence, "It has to wait. Barret's planning to go back into the headquarters and mess up ShinRa for good."

Chase looked away surprised.

"Meaning all of you are going."

"And we need you Tifa. Like old times, yeah but we got to do this. Barret wont have ShinRa keep doing the stuff they're doing. Barret's waiting," Yuffie said.

Tifa looked over to Chase. She thought this was the best thing to happen to them so far. Chase and her were going up there anyways and now the old gang would be there to help. Chase on the other hand looked a little like he was taking everything to personal. Looks like he still blamed himself.

"Chase?" Tifa asked. "Really its, alright. We done this before and…"

"It's not that Tifa," Chase smiled slightly. "Its just that this is the first time I ever had anyone to help me."

Tifa smiled. They got up together and followed Yuffie out of the cave. After a little walk, the trio came to the location just below their exit. The others waited there patiently as they walked up. Cid kept spouting profanities since the wind wouldn't let him light his cigarette and Barret simply hated being cold.

"Looks like we're together for one last mission," Barret said as soon as the trio reached them. He turned to Chase, "You aint gonna double cross us again right Slick?"

"No," Chase answered. "Not again."

"We can trust him know. He and Tif got a thing together," Yuffie pointed out.

Barret ignored Yuffie, "Good. You've been in there so you know the layout of the place right? We're gonna use that knowledge so we can finally put an end to ShinRa once and for all."

"The best thing to do would be to activate the self destruct sequence that's accessible any monitor," Chase said. "Problem is that now since security has tightened and my codes are no good, it's going to be a tough-y."

"What do you mean Slick?"

"I can get past all that but it wont be easy. I may not have my password but ShinRa should remember the times when I hacked into their bank accounts. If I have to hack in though, there's only one mainframe I could do it out of," Chase looked down and rubbed his chin.

"You know what Tifa, I'm sooo jealous right now. You snagged the greatest man alive. Smart, sexy, strong, and handsome," Yuffie whispered in Tifa's ear.

"Barret, I think that you and the others should go in and cause as much trouble as you want. I sneak past all that and head into the central hub where the only computer that I can hack into is located. I'll activate the self-destruct. My friend and I designed it ourselves, I know exactly that it will be easy to change the ten second warning into a sufficient ten minutes, right?"

"Sounds good to me Slick. How long will it take for you to get in there?" Barret asked.

"I'm not sure. I have something to do before anything," Chase said. "Just try to not get too outnumbered. Careful with the last SOLDIERs," Chase looked up at the icy ledge. "I ought to go in first."

Chase found himself alone as he reached the ledge. He looked at the sterile hallway through the doorway. ShinRa must've thought they were dead by now. Not even replacing the door, they were arrogant for their own good. Chase quickly moved through the hallways. How he hated the building hidden within the mountain.

He thought about the little chat that Barret pulled him to the side for before he had climbed up.

_"Listen here Slick, Tif's been giving her heart to a certain guy and he never even gave her a thought," Barret said as he held Chase by the collar of his shirt. "You toyed with it once and you should've never even did that if you like her. One more screw up like that and another shattering of her heart and I'll do the same thing to your body."_

_"Trust me, I hate myself for doing so. I'm sorry about before but that was then. I love her and I'll make sure she'll always be safe. Including from me," Chase said._

_Barret let him go, "Can I count on it?"_

_Chase simply nodded his head._

"I just wonder what will happen after we get through this," Chase said under his breath. "I never loved a girl like I do Tifa. It's really all new to me."

He found himself on the holding cells floor, the same floor where the others were kept. Chase looked at each of the rooms, counting them off. He stopped and stood in front of a steel door. It opened up to show an almost carbon copy of the room Tifa was in. On the other side of the cell was a girl, just a little younger that Yuffie. She sat with her knees to her chin and twirling her red hair.

"Sis!" Chase yelled as he ran forward.

She looked up to see her brother press his hand on the cell door. She quickly stood up, "Chase, I'm so glad you came. Some ShinRa guy came and said you died."

"I'm sorry Valerie. I should've never agreed to any of this," Chase said as he started to fiddle with the lock. "I wont do it again."

"It's alright Chase. I know that it was really the only way that you could help me. I'm just so glad that you're alive. I assume that you had enough now," Valerie said as Chase continued with the lock.

"I knew you'd come back," came a voice from behind Chase.

Chase turned around and no one was there. Stephen walked through the doorway with a gun pointed at him. Chase stared at his friend, "So you're going to shoot me now? This is how it is? _Et tu_ Stephen?"

"Sorry Chase. Can't really say no to the guys who have all the cards. Just step away from the cell and come with me," he demanded.

Chase smirked, "You think a gun could really hurt me? Stephen, just come along with me. ShinRa is going to fall today and there is nothing anyone could do about it."

Stephen switched the gun to his other hand. Chase sighed and the gun became frozen in ice. Stephen dropped it onto the floor. Chase walked over to him. Stephen looked away from Chase's steal gaze. He couldn't handle the guilt that those eyes brought him.

"Stephen, your like a brother to me," Chase said. "Don't be a pawn like I was."

"Your right Chase," Stephen said. He looked up, "Do you need help?"

Chase smiled, "The lock on the door is giving me a bit of trouble. You still got your password right?"

Stephen walked over and unlocked the door. Valerie came out and hugged Chase. His delicate ears heard running footsteps and turned around to see Tifa come through the door.

"Tifa? What happened?" Chase asked.

"I was worried about you," she answered. She looked at Valerie, "So you saved your sister?"

Chase nodded. He turned to Valerie, "Val, I want you to go with Tifa here outside. I still have one thing left to do."

Valerie nodded but looked confused, "What are you going to do now?"

"Chase, you're not planning to…" Stephen started.

He nodded again, "Only way. Stephen, could you go get Pancakes and take the bottom southern exit out of here?" He turned to Tifa, "You know what to do right?"

"Yeah. Be careful Chase."

"Don't worry, I will," Chase let go of his sister and walked out of the room. Before he ran down the hall, he felt himself being grabbed. He turned around to a worried Tifa. She smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips. He smiled and then took off down the hall. Red lights on the ceiling suddenly went off. The plan was in motion.

Chase took the elevator down. Cheap music played on the speakers and the numbers lit up slowly. Sixty floors and he was only on number 15, good thing that the central hub is located on floor 30. Chase thumbed the swords on his belt. They've been with him a long time. The Mastered Materia set in the blades looked like precious stones. He didn't want to use them ever again. They were a mark of his blind servitude and alliance. But, they were still his.

The number 30 lit up and the doors slip opened. Chase stepped out to find a very large room that looked like it took up three floors by itself. He walked into the middle and there it was, the computer he needed. He hated the small quest he had to take to even reach where he was but no other computer, even his at his office, could grant him access to the self destruct program.

He started typing feverishly at the keyboard. _"Why is it that these places all have some self destruct thing to them? Isn't it safer not to have these?"_ he asked himself.

"Not so fast Chase," said a voice from above.

Chase turned around to find Jonathan on the second floor of the room. He leaned against the rail with a smile on his face.

"Might as well get out of here," Chase said. "Unless you like being blown to oblivion."

Jonathan chuckled, "Activate the damn thing. See if I care."

Chase moved a finger over to the keyboard. He pressed a key and the lights went red. A voice came over the speaker.

"**Evacuate immediately! Ten minutes and counting to self destruction!"**

"What are you going to do now?" Chase asked.

"Like the voice says, evacuate. Of course, you're not going to escape," he snapped his finger and the computer slid down into the floor. A steel lid soon covered it. Behind Chase, doors slid open and gargantuan beasts came out. Saliva dripped down their jaws and fangs. "Your aren't my only success."

"Jonathan, you know I can take out each and every monster that's coming at me," Chase declared. "What are you really intending?"

"This," he answered with a smirk. All the lights suddenly changed from the warning red into bright light. Chase covered his eyes in a feeble attempt to shield his eyes from the light. He fell onto his knees, "I know your weakness all too well Chase. I know that you could easily defeat my beasts but only if you weren't blinded."

Chase held his eyes tightly closed. His photosensitive eyes felt like they were burning from the hottest flame imaginable. All that he could see was the reddened insides of his eyelids.

"Chase!" came a voice.

Tifa ran into the room and kicked a monster as it approached Chase. The bright light made it hard to see much but she could imagine what Chase was going through. She drove her fist into another beast as it came nearer. She looked down again to find Chase slowly getting to his feet. He drew both of his swords.

"Chase, you can't fight," Tifa said.

Chase took two red orbs off of the swords. He put them into his pant's pocket and then muttered something under his breath.

"Oh, how sweet. Death do you part right?" Jonathan mocked.

Chase held his swords firmly and through both of his swords toward Jonathan's position. Stunned Chase's actions, Jonathan simply stood still as both swords impaled him and drove him into the wall. They pierced through the steel wall and held him there. He coughed up blood as he looked down to see the two hilts sticking from his chest.

"**Five minutes left till self destruct!"**

Chase collapsed back onto the floor. Tifa was couldn't help him. They were stranded as monstrosities of science closed the gap. He couldn't fight and she was outnumbered. Tifa heard gunshots as the lights above her shattered. The room darkened and then she heard yelling. Cid came from above and, with his Venus Gospel, hacked away at the monsters.

She looked over to Chase who was rubbing his eyes and slowly getting to his feet. Cid finished off the last fiend and looked over at them, "Get your asses in gear. We got to move out!"

Tifa picked up Chase and together they followed Cid through the elevator door. He quickly pressed the number one, "This is going to be really close."

"The base won't explode first," Chase said as regained his composure. "I designed it to start from the top first."

"What about once we get outside?" Cid asked. "I know something about explosives and I known that a big ass explosion like the one that's coming will cause something to happen outside. You know, a real avalanche."

"That's already thought of. I told you this place was built with everything in mind. An explosion will happen but it will be controlled. Nothing will happen on the outside, only the inside of the base will be totally destroyed."

"Cid, Barret and Vincent shot out the lights. What will happen to them?" Tifa asked.

"They should be alright. They'll take another elevator down. Besides, they left before us. Really though, Chase was it, the employees have all gotten out. What's no top stop them from rebuilding ShinRa?"

"Jonathan is more evil than he looks. Nobody wants to be in ShinRa no more. He rebuilt it himself and had something on everybody. Essentially he forced everyone to work again."

"Good," Cid responded.

The door opened and they ran into the hallway. They rounded corners until they came upon the blown doorway. They ran out of the base as soon as the first explosion was heard. They hastily climbed down the icy mountain to where the group of employees was gathered. A little bit of snow fell from the top as the explosion kept going lower.

"Guess that's that," Chase said with a sigh.

He felt a slap on the back and turned to see Barret, "You did good Slick, except the part when they exploited that little weak point of yours. But you managed to stop ShinRa using their defense system against them. Good job."

Tifa came and embraced him, "I'm glad we got out of there ok." She kissed him on the cheek, "Now we could actually do…"Stuff"."

"Hey Barret, do you hear wedding bells?" Cid asked.

"Wait, wedding bells?" Chase looked at both Cid and Barret. "That means marriage. Aw, no way."

Barret, Cid, and Tifa started laughing. Chase found himself lost.

A/N: Epilogue next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this story as mush as I enjoyed writing it.


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

"So tomorrows the big day, huh Tifa?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah it is," Tifa said, sipping her martini.

"Hope your ready for some entertainment," Yuffie said slyly.

Tifa raised her eyebrow at Yuffie. Tifa, Yuffie, and Valerie were celebrating Tifa's bachelorette party in an extravagant club. Yuffie force Tifa to wear a wedding veal, making sure that everyone knew that this was Tifa's last night as a single girl. Men walked up, playfully trying to have Tifa forget about her fiancée but they all failed.

"What are you getting at?" Tifa asked.

A mischievous smile spread on Yuffie's face, "Oh, nothing."

"How do you feel Tifa?" Valerie asking sweetly, "I mean, about marrying my brother?"

"Well," Tifa said, looking down at her glass. "It's going to be a new experience. Something I'm really looking forward to." She softly smiled, remembering the day he proposed to her. She couldn't help but smile at how timid and nervous he was.

"_Is something wrong Chase?" Tifa asked. _

"_No, nothing," he answered, keeping his eyes away from her. _

_They had been with each other for a few months now. After they crumbled what was left of the ShinRa organization, all that was left was to live life. After they met, Tifa and Chase could never have been separated. The two found comfort with one another and that was how they wanted to keep it. _

_So every chance they had, they went out. Chase didn't like how their first date went, so he made sure each time they went out for dinner, he made sure that it went well. . Both of them were at a restaurant neither of them had been before. All through dinner, Tifa notice how nervous Chase was. He only talked whenever Tifa asked him something and not even in real sentences. _

"_Chase, we promised each other we won't keep secrets," Tifa said._

_Chase sighed, "I remember, Tifa." _

"_So, what is it?" _

_He swallowed hard, "Tifa?"_

"_Yes?" _

_Chase reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. He fumbled with it as he tried to open it. Chase finally managed to do so and held it in front of Tifa. Inside was a golden ring with a large diamond. "Ms. Tifa Lockhart, will you-" _

"_Yes," Tifa interrupted. _

"_Um, I was going to ask you if you liked the ring," Chase said._

_Tifa looked away, "…it's nice." _

"_Good. I wouldn't want to propose with a ring you hated." _

_Tifa looked back at him with a smile, "Your terrible." _

"I wonder what's he doing now…" Tifa asked herself.

( . ) -----------\

A bright light shone on Chase as he sat on a chair. Luckily he had really dark sunglasses on and it didn't bother him too much. Barret and Cid stood above him. Cid blew puffs of smoke in his face and Barret always tinkered with his gunarm. They eyed him as he fidgeted in the spotlight.

"Can I go now?" Chase asked.

"Why, so you can go to a skin bar?" Cid asked.

"Or get drunk and be so hammered that it'll get you past tomorrow?" Barret asked.

"Actually," Chase said. "I don't drink and strip clubs are demeaning to women. I just want to go home so I can sleep. I want to be up and early tomorrow."

"So you're not staying for your bachelor party?" Cid asked, clicking on all the lights. He arranged it so they wouldn't be too bright. Vincent, Reeve, Red, and other friends from Chase's days at ShinRa were there.

"I just don't get you guys," Chase said, covering his face.

"All this alcohol will go to waste then," Barret said, pointing to the kegs.

"And the stripper," Cid added.

"If you want me to stay, I'll stay. But, I'm not going to drink nor…" Chase coughed. "Do anything with the stripper. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah, yeah," Barret said, pouring a glass fro himself.

"_This is going to be a long night," _Chase thought.

( . ) -----------\

Tifa stared into the night sky. The stars sparkled brightly and the moon hung low. Its soft light bathed Tifa. She sat by herself on top of the roof of her old bar. Once she came back, Tifa decided not to keep that charade anymore. The bar was part of her old life. She had a new one now. Besides, only one person ever came in there.

"I knew I'd find you up here," said the voice she came to love. He balanced himself on the shingles and slowly made his way to her. He sat next to her and she gave him a smile.

"Just thought I'd watched the stars. You know how much I love doing that."

"Yeah I do. I also know that you do it because something's on your mind too."

She laughed, "Funny, there isn't anything that has me worried. It's just that now, my life seems like its going right. No more worrying about someone who'll never pay me any attention to me. No evil momma's boys. No imminent destruction of the planet. No more mundane life."

"Tifa, do you like kids?"

"I love them. Why?"

"No reason. Just asking."

"Come on Chase. Why, do you want to have one?"

"Nice moon out."

"I hate it when you do that," she said playfully. "Your really so weird sometimes."

"Come with being a Materia SOLDIER."

"Thought you didn't like be called that."

"I don't but I can't escape what I am. I might as well except that that's me. Somehow, I think that it won't matter anymore. No unless you expect me to make an ice sculpture on a daily basis anyways. But, no matter what I do, your going to keep thinking of him aren't you?"

"I want to see him one more time Chase. I'm sorry. I love you but-"

"I understand Tifa," he kissed her softly. "I'll see you later today then."

He left her alone. She felt guilty for bringing up the past. He was always putting her before himself and this is how she treated him. He said he understands, but does he accept it? She sighed.

"Tifa?"

She turned around to see him smiling at her. He raised his hand into the air. From it, bright crystals started to descend in front of them.

"Let me bring the stars to you."

She smiled and mouthed the words 'Thank You' to him.

( . ) -----------\

Chase held Tifa closely to him. Her head was on his chest as they danced at their reception. Soft music played for them as other couples came to the dance floor.

"I want some cake," Chase said, smiling.

"Didn't you already eat a piece?" Tifa asked.

"That's the problem. One slice Tifa?"

Tifa laughed. The song ended and they walked with each other to their seats. Chase picked out another piece of cake and began to indulge. Tifa looked around the room looking at all her friends having fun. She felt someone tapping on her shoulder and turned around. Tifa jumped up in joy as she say the familiar blue-eyed, chocobo haired SOLDIER.

"Cloud! You came!" she said as she hugged him.

"Calm down, Tif. I wouldn't miss this for anything," Cloud said as he held onto to her.

Tifa looked at him, "It's been such a long time. How did you manage to even hear about this?"

Cloud nodded over to Chase, "Your new husband somehow tracked me down and told me about it. He arranged everything. Glad you found the right guy for you Tif."

Tifa looked over to Chase, who still kept eating the same piece of cake. She could see that from the rim of glasses, he kept an eye on her. On top of that, she could tell he was smiling.

Tifa sat back down, "You never cease to amaze me."

"Yeah, well, its my job to keep you happy right?"

A/N: And that's that. Finally finished and well, whatever. I just wish I had a little bit more Chase/Tifa thing going on but this was a side project after all. If you guys and gals could do me a favor, tell me what you think of Chase. Like how big was the shocker that he was ShinRa all the time or stuff like that.

Thanks for reading and liking this fic. Without an audience, these are nothing but untold words.


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